Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

"Raziel's quest for revenge against Kain."

The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is a shining example of how to make a smart platform game. Almost every thing about it is polished and designed to perfection. Although I am not exactly a fan of vampire hunters, I still found this to be one of the most enjoyable video games on the original PlayStation.

In this game you take control of a vampire known as Raziel, an underling of Kain. But one day when Raziel arrived with a set of wings he was casts down in to a pit by Kain for evolving before him. How ever you are given a chance to exact your revenge on your treacherous former leader by an Elder God. While falling through the pit, Raziel was horribly deformed. But the Elder God has given you a new power, the ability to devour souls. This is where one of the main game play elements is brought in.

To stay in the physical plane, Raziel must suck in the souls of his defeated enemies. If you do not do so for a while you will begin to transition in to a plane of existence where time stands still and every thing is frozen in place from where they were in the physical realm. This brings about game play elements that allow you to do things such as throw a box while in the physical plane, then instantly transition over to the other realm where the box is stuck in the air. This way you can jump on to the box, allowing you to reach a ledge that was at one point too high to get to. As you can imagine, these type of things create some absolutely wonderful and inventive puzzles.

Aside from trying to make your way through the areas and solve puzzles, you will have to deal with hundreds of foes both big and small. One thing that I really enjoyed was that while the fighting is rather simplistic, it is also fun and responsive. You will need to have quick reflexes and be very comfortable with the controls in order to survive. Raziel is also quite capable of using almost any thing in the environments as a weapon as well. For example if you are facing off against an enemy and it knocks your weapon out of your hand, feel free to grab a torch off of the wall and set them on fire. All of this is done with little to no frustration, as the control is smooth and responsive. It is obvious that the developers knew what they are doing when they designed this game.

When it comes to the visuals you will not be disappointed, as they are some of the best that the PlayStation has to offer. Every thing from the character models to the environments them selves are all beautifully rendered. You would be hard pressed to find better looking three dimensional graphics on a 32-bit system. And to top it all off, every thing runs at a smooth and quick frame rate.

While the visuals are great, in my opinion the audio could only be described as an experience. The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver has the absolute best voice acting in any game yet, the production values are astounding. There is not really much in the way of music here, but what is available sounds great. This is definitely not one of those games that will have you reaching for the mute button every time you play.

All in all I would have to say that of all the Legacy of Kain games, this would most likely be the greatest yet. I strongly suggest that you pick up a copy for what ever system you can get it for. The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is well deserving of a ten out of ten.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/07/03